Disciples of Nazarick
by ThE AnCiEnT DeRuViSh
Summary: The Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown declares that the next age of Nazarick has begun. Eight humans are chosen for the task of carrying on the legacy of Ainz Ooal Gown. Despite their numerous flaws and incompatibilities, the team handpicked by the floor guardians and Ainz himself reminds the Great One of colleagues long since passed...
1. Chapter 1

The sun was setting over the horizon, with a cold breeze flowing through the dusk sky. The chatter of animals commonly found in forests seemed to have suddenly stopped. A lone gecko curiously watched the hooded individuals making their way through the forest. Despite its curiosity, the gecko also seemed to have another emotion coursing through its lite little body. While it was no stranger to this emotion, fear, it was confused over what exactly was causing the sensation. Desperate to uncover what ailed it, the gecko looked on intently towards the only foreign presence in the forest.

A strange light was emitted by one of the beings, which caused the gecko to scurry to safety. It figured that what it knew not was best left unknown, and the risk was definitely not worth the reward. As the gecko scrambled towards an area it considered safe, loud shouting broke the still calm of the forest.

"Why the hell did you use [Summon: Light Spirit]! I didn't know you wanted to be dragon fodder so bad!"

"I felt something crawling through my feet! Besides, we aren't close to the dragon at all...Stop overreacting."

"Did you forget about all the other traps laying around in the forest? I can't save us from all of them you know..."

"I don't need saving Lors, and your shouting is clearly not doing us any favors."

"Alright, everyone calm down. Let's keep moving forward and keep the bickering to a minimum please, the faster we kill this dragon the sooner we can go home."

"I agree with Vars. We mustn't fight among ourselves."

"Whether we find this dragon or it finds us doesn't matter... I'll eviscerate it completely."

"Your gonna save some for me, right Zeka?"

Zeka gave her companion an annoyed stare.

"...I'll take that as a no. In that case, the only thing I can do is beat you to it!"

The man known as Danro smirked boldly at Zeka, and promptly began running ahead of the group.

"Danro, wait a minute! Don't break formation!"

"What a nuisance..."

Zeka soon took off following the warrior, leaving the rest of the group in disarray.

"Well boss, it looks like the party went that way. So I guess I'll be seeing you guys in a bit...[Shadow Mist]."

Lors' figure became enveloped in a shroud of darkness. Before any of the other members could utter a single word, Lors was nowhere to be seen.

This left a total of five members remaining in formation.

Vars facepalmed...hard.

"How are we supposed to act like a team if everyone's only looking out for themselves?"

"A good leader would have been able to keep his team under control. If you don't follow your words with action, then you aren't suited to this task."

"Don't you think that's a little harsh Vera?"

"Harshness has nothing to do with it. We must all be adequately skilled and prepared to accomplish the tasks the Great One has set out for us. If someone is lacking in one manner or another, they will only impede the rest of us. I know Demiurge-sama would say something similar."

"But he was chosen by the Great One...surely-"

"While he may indeed have been chosen by his Majesty, that is not to say he is without fault, or irreplaceable. He has potential, but such things can always be squandered."

"I admit I'm not the most suited to being the leader, you don't have to convince me... But if it is the will of Ainz-sama, then I will lead... I trust you have no further issues with that?"

"Correct... Know that I am always watching, and ever-vigilant of your actions or inactions."

Vars sighed.

"Do you have anything to say Yuric?"

The grey knight marched on in silence.

"Okay... We're gonna need to move more quickly to catch up with the others. Maryl, can you please grant us a boon of swiftness?"

"I'm on it."

"Thank you. I swear if they start fighting it on their own... the dragon will be the last of their worries."


	2. Chapter 2

Disciples of Nazarick

Nightfall passed through the forest. The sounds of small critters and insects reverberated from the swaying trees. Many would ponder the safety of the woods given the predatory nature of animals lurking in the shadows of the forest. Priests and druids of all kingdoms would warn against the coming darkness, especially concerning the malicious evil said to arise during this time, specifically that of their most hated enemy, the undead. Of course, not all beings were created equally, and those born with talent and prowess held no such fears. In addition, being allied to the king of such species would grant anyone peace of mind, even if the forest were crawling with fearsome beasts.

However, even without this protection, the two figures currently roaming across the forest plains would have no significant problems with any of the denizens of the forest. Despite their human nature, it would be incredibly easy to distinguish these individuals from other members of their species. For example, the shining confidence- well, perhaps confidence would be putting it too lightly... the shining arrogance coming from their eyes would undoubtedly cause opponents to scoff at such delusions of grandeur, thinking their strength to be falsified and exaggerated. Surprisingly, they would be correct... if compared to those demons who toil below the soil. Unfortunately, if they were comparing themselves to these warriors, such a mistake can only be rectified by one action, death. Considered to be on par with adamantite adventurers, these humans were not to be trifled with, lest the doorway to hell be opened, and consume all who dare oppose it.

Danro turned his head and looked past his shoulder, seeing the quickly approaching form of the woman who radiated power and who was feared by many.

"Damn, you look really riled up Zeka! So much for your cold exterior!"

"Danro, I swear by the forty-one that you will pay dearly if you kill that dragon."

"Ha, like you could stop me! How about a quick one on one to see who gets the honor?"

"So be it."

As the Vanguard of Frost and the White Valkyrie prepared to clash, they were interrupted by a large clamor and the heat of a gigantic fireball hurtling their way. With speed that could be said to defy physics, Zeka and Danro quickly parted and now faced the new threat together.

"Finally, something that won't die in two hits!"

"I'm glad you can enjoy this one...its still too weak for me."

Danro rolled his eyes at Zeka.

"Yeah, yeah, of course it is."

 _Honestly, maybe it was a bad idea to ditch the others_... _Even if Zeka talks big, I know for a fact that she would have to go all out to take this one down._

Danro readied his greataxe and prepared an offensive stance.

 _Hurry up guys..._

The necromancer had a panicked expression on his face.

"That wasn't just me right? Did everyone hear that?"

"I certainly did."

"Anyone with ears heard that. We must move even quicker."

As the group prepared to sprint, a figure made from shadows rose ahead of them.

"So glad you waited for us, or perhaps you were always a coward?"

"Shut your trap witch, that thing is way more powerful than I expected."

Vars and Maryl gave a surprised expression, while the others seemed unaffected.

"Did you get a read on it? What is its level?"

"Hmm, judging on the quality of its tough-as-nails skin and its humongous form... Maybe 70?"

"Okay, not good. We need to catch up to those two geniuses and reform. Any other intel? Weaknesses?"

"Well, now that you mention it, I-"

A crashing sound caught the attention of the entire party. The dragon had landed right next them, its body marred by bruises yet it didn't seem too concerned. As Vars stared at it with wide eyes, he could only describe its form with one word. Majestic. The red scales of the beast shined with a great glimmer, almost as if someone had polished its scales. Matching its skin was its eyes. Vars couldn't help but compare its eyes to that of his master's, although it was obvious which pair of eyes was more fearsome. Its large wing membranes went well with its long claws and talons.

"If that isn't a blood dragon, I don't know what is."

"Seems like it. Ah, there they are."

Two warriors emerged from large bushes, their armor indented and scarred with claw marks. Danro seemed to be bleeding profusely, while Zeka seemed to be in a better condition. As Vars and Danro locked eyes with each other, a notable sense of relief swept through the tall warrior. Zeka, on the other hand, appeared to be on the brink of losing her composure. She could barely contain the rage that was boiling beneath her, and Vars knew he had to handle the situation immediately or friendly fire was a serious possibility.

"Oi, you two, hurry up and reform! Lors, you know what to do."

"Aye aye captain."

As the warriors rejoined the group, Lors swiftly casted a mid-tier thief skill.

"[Cloak of Shadows]."

This skill was very effective for large groups travelling at night. So long as they kept movement to a minimum, they would be concealed by elongated shadows, leading enemies without sensory skills to try and guess at their location by trial and error. It also had the added effect of muting the conversations between individuals inside the cloak from anyone outside.

"We are gonna have a serious talk about teamwork after this... But for now, let's concentrate on killing that damn thing. Maryl, please heal these fantastic vanguards. Vera and Lors, flank the enemy. Yuric, looks like your the new vanguard. Tenestra and I will be supporting and attacking from the backline. Oh and before I forget, you were saying Lors?"

"Ah, yeah... Uh, I couldn't really find any weaknesses per se. I guess we can spam it with stuff till it dies right?"

"It seems like we have no other options. Anyone want to add anything?"

The sound of stomping and roaring soon followed Vars' question.

"Quickly. Does anyone want to add anything quickly?"

Zeka looked at Vars with sharp eyes fueled by anger.

"I am barely scratched. There is no reason for me to be healed. I will take down that pest of a monster right this instant."

"Unfortunately for you, I already made the plan. As your leader, I order you to join us once your fully healed and that's the end of that."

Zeka groaned in annoyance but seemed to comply with the order.

"Okay crew, let's kill this thing and go home!"

Everyone expressed their agreement with this statement, except for Yuric.

As the young disciples took their respective positions, a great ball of fire headed straight towards them.

"Scatter!"

Since the dragon had night-vision as part of its racial passive, it was able to notice a faint trail of blood leading to a particular spot. Enraged by the cowardliness of its foes, it let loose a searing burst of flames, hoping to incinerate the beings who foolishly thought they were safe.

Luckily, Vera was able to warn the others of this attack, resulting in no casualties.

"Damn, too close. Move into formation!"

As Vera and Lors moved to the beast's sides, Yuric took the role of tank and tried to keep the dragon's attention on himself. Meanwhile, Tenestra began to summon her signature grasping vines while Vars created two temporary death knights.

"[Nature's Wrath]!"

"[Summon: Death Knight]!"

As Tenestra prioritized immobilizing the great beast, Vars knew he had to support Yuric in defense, thereby summoning his minions to assist his comrade.

"Its looking good from this angle... I guess I got a bit carried away."

"You should really think things through Danro, your wounds are pretty severe and you lost quite a bit of blood. Don't rush off by yourself next time, okay?"

Maryl looked at Danro with true concern, which caused Danro to let out an exasperated sigh.

"Ah, yeah, your right Maryl. Hearing you say that makes me feel guilty..."

"As you should be. Now that I'm all healed up, its time for me to rejoin the-"

"Your not going back until your fully healed Zeka. You can't hide your wounds from me."

"...Perceptive. Or perhaps that was a bluff? Either way, this tiny scratch won't impede me any longer."

Zeka unsheathed her Saber Lance and moved into the fray.

"Don't worry about her Maryl, she seems fine to me."

"She's not. Zeka's hiding the enormous pain she is currently suffering from the large wound on her left side. Did the dragon swipe at her?"

"Hmm, I think it did, but she shrugged it off so easily I thought it barely scraped her. How did you notice it by the way?"

"Her body language. She tried to conceal the injury by tensing her left side. However, she knew it would look odd if only her left side was tense, which prompted her to tense her right side as well. While tension does not necessarily correlate to the presence of an injury, I noticed that she would unconsciously loosen her right side for several seconds before tightening it again. This led me to believe that the imbalance was caused by an extensive injury."

"Wow, that's one heck of a thing to pick up. I'm also surprised that you noticed those movements despite the fact that she's wearing a whole lot of armor."

Maryl smiled at Danro.

"Pestonya-sama taught me well."

"[Aspect of the She-Devil: Sharp Claws]!"

As Vera's nails turned to claws, she couldn't help but feel that this maneuver was useless against a scaled being such as this one. As she attempted to claw the dragon's skin, she was met with heavy resistance, causing her attack to be effortlessly repelled.

 _If my skills won't work, there isn't much chance that the piercing gauntlets will... Maybe if I threw them into its eyes..._

Vera was becoming frustrated with her opponent. Normally, the vast majority of her encounters in the Lesser World ended with a couple of swipes and blood on her matching skirt suit. The fact that this beast dare defy her will infuriated her. However, just like her mentor, she was never one to let go of her ability to reason, and always considered the bigger picture.

"Lors, can you pierce its hide?"

"I'm trying, but even [Furious Blades] doesn't seem to be working."

"Looks like were gonna need some magic power to defeat it."

Vera steely looked at her leader, a human being she considered to be the most average of the team. Vera didn't feel like he brought anything special to the table, and his ability to lead was decent at best. She couldn't quite comprehend why the Great One would choose him as the leader. Could the role of leadership only be filled by a necromancer? Was that the sole criteria? She knew it was impossible, which was why she was waiting for him to develop some kind of super skill that would set him apart from the others. However, until that time arrived, she couldn't help but look down on him. She knew for a fact that she could lead much better than he could.

"Vars, Tenestra! We need some strong offensive magic!"

Vars nodded and motioned for Tenestra to cast a stronger spell.

"[Grasp of Nature]!"

The creaking of tree roots reached the ears of the young group, who turned to look at the trees who were suddenly coming to life. The branches of the trees began to lengthen, extending all the way towards the vermilion dragon. As they reached the panicking fire-breather, the branches began coiling around its limbs, further immobilizing the target. The branches were also constricting the beast's blood flow.

Knowing that her magic wouldn't hold him forever, Tenestra signaled to Vars.

"I can't hold him forever! Hurry!"

"I'm on it!"

Vars took a deep breath and quickly went over the plan in his head. He then sprinted towards the dragon at full speed. Having noticed this bizarre change of formation, the dragon became extremely cautious and started ignoring everyone except for the sprinter. With its eyes focused on the necromancer, it began to twist its neck and a ball of flame spiraled out of its mouth.

Vars promptly stopped running, knowing that he wouldn't be able to dodge in time. As his death grew nearer by each passing millisecond, he contemplated on what would happen to his corpse. Will he be reanimated to further serve his Master or will his ashes be scattered to the wind, a tragic passing that would be so easily forgotten. He imagined that not many of his allies would mourn his passing. Some, he was sure, would even be happy with his death. As Vars mentally prepared himself for his impending incineration, a figure clad in pristine white armor leaped into the space between him and the fireball, raising his shield and blocking the magical attack head-on.

Before the necromancer could utter a word of thanks, the white knight promptly ended the conversation before it even started.

"What are you waiting for! Hurry up and debuff it!"

"Ah, yeah...Sorry."

Vars soon reached the dragon's side. Despite being in close proximity to the dangerous beast, he didn't fear it stomping on him due to its currently immobilized form and he didn't believe the dragon could muster another fireball so soon. Wasting no time, he immediately began to use the spell that would win them the fight.

"[Death's Embrace]."

As his hands began to brim with negative energy, he quickly touched the scales of the majestic beast.

Sensing that something was wrong with its body, the red dragon roared in anger. Despite not knowing exactly what had happened, it could feel its scales steadily decreasing in thickness and size, resulting in its physical defense being jeopardized.

"Alright, now that its debuffed, we should be able to-"

Vars stopped talking as he noticed one of his teammates was already in the air and about to cram their lance into the skull of the beast.

"I just hope she acknowledges it was a team effort..."

A pained cry was the last thing that escaped from the dragon's mouth.

"Phew, thank god that's over with."

"You can say that again, Lors. Damn scales were so tough even my greataxe couldn't penetrate its skin."

"Hmm, its only unconscious... I would like to bring it back for experimentation."

"That thing looks heavy as hell, who's going to carry it back?"

"I'm sure one of our magic casters can help us in this regard."

"No. The mission was to bring its head back as proof that we slew it. There is no point in bringing the whole body with us."

Surprisingly, it was Yuric who spoke.

"Oh look, the silent one has finally found a voice. Don't be so short-sighted, if we bring back the whole body there is a possibility we could gleam more information from the dragon race."

"If that was the intention of the Great One, he surely would have said so. Instead, he gave us very specific orders, and I will not let your tampering ruin an otherwise successful mission."

"How nonsensical. There is no harm in bringing the entire dragon with us. If the Supreme One truly wished for merely its head, then we can behead it right there and then. If not, then Nazarick still has something to gain. Can you not really not see the error in your logic?"

"Uhm, Vera? Well, I was talking with Ten and... It seems like we don't have any spells that will ease the burden of dragging that thing with us."

Vera gave an irritated stare at Vars.

"Are you serious? How incompetent... Utterly foolish. Very well, cut off its head and be done with it. Someone please learn an ease of burden spell so this mistake does not happen again."

"Right, I'll get right on that... Speaking of burdens, how are you coming along Danro?"

"I'm laughing so hard my ribs are hurting...literally."

Vars grinned at Danro's deadpan expression, but then he noticed that Maryl was looking at him in a disapproving manner.

"...I'm just kidding. Anyways, lets head back home. I'm getting tired of this place."

"Same here. I just want to lounge with Mare-sama for a good week."

"Knowing Aura-sama... Damn I'm jealous of you."

Tenestra winked at Lors.

"We must return quickly. I must tend to the Prince."

"I must as well. This buff should help us: [Haste]."

As Nazarick's Junior Division departed from the forest, Vars began quietly contemplating on the day's hardships.

 _I never expected being a leader to be this hard... How does he do it so easily? The only thing I'm sure about is... this is gonna be one hell of a bumpy ride._


End file.
